Inmates Fight Stats in Marion County Jail

Published May 21st, 2012

A fight inside the Marion County Jail left one inmate feeling like his ribs were broken.Officials say a team of bullies in the jail beat the inmate over a food tray. On average there was a fight at the Marion County Jail a little less than every other day.There are currently more than 1,600 inmates at the jail which is designed to hold more than 1,900."They're confined into an area with other people and they just don't get along," Marion County Sheriff's Assistant Division Chief, Clint Bowen, told TV20.Just this month, Michael Blanco who is in jail for burglary, and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, was himself assaulted by a trio of violent criminals after not giving up his food tray."Inmates are capable of anything, you do what you can to control the inmate population," Bowen said. "You do what you can to prevent negative things from happening within the facility, but sometimes you just don't have control over that," he said.Justin Soto, one of six accused in the murder of 15-year-old Seath Jackson, told authorities he had lied about being suicidal to get away from the same trio of bullying inmates.Section A of the C-pod, where this fight happened, is home to inmates charged with violent crimes.There have been three fights in this section since this time last year for a total of 158 through out the jail."It's very dangerous," Bowen said. "Everything inside the jail is unforgiving, everything is concrete and steel."With eight inmates to one officer, fights are a constant threat.But there are 364 motion-sensor cameras, 230 of them added in the past three years.Chief Bowen says that the Marion County Jail ranks well below the national average for inmate fights,and that it's an automatic felony to fight inside a jail.